Description
Book SynopsisClassical slavery provides fascinating, complex, and engaging, albeit sometimes grim, topics for the historian. This title provides the political and historical context for Greek and Roman slavery and briefly surveys the institutions themselves. It conveys the interest of the field of ancient slavery to students of history.
Trade Review"
Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery is one of the first overviews of the lives of slaves in Greece and Rome aimed at a more general reader [...] an excellent book to use for an undergraduate course on the ancient world, either as a main text or as an adjunct to a more traditional textbook that focuses on the traditional narratives of these societies." -
Christian Perring, PhD, Editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews
"Hunt delivers an introduction to classical slavery that will appeal to a wide range of readers. The book will function equally well as a textbook in courses on ancient slavery, social history, or comparative slavery, and as a reference work for historians working on slavery in other periods. It is difficult to produce a text that serves the needs of these distinct audiences, but Hunt does so successfully by using case studies that guide the reader through the methodology of studying ancient slavery. [...] The greatest compliment that I can pay Hunt is that he has convinced me that a thematic approach [for my course], using his text, will be much more interesting. -
Katharine P.D. Huemoeller, University of British Columbia for Bryn Mawr Classical Review
“In this wide-ranging and thorough book, Hunt navigates complex and partial sources with great skill to produce a comprehensive account of how slavery operated, varied and changed throughout the ancient world […] Within each of these topics, Hunt is careful to present contrasting scholarly views of the evidence. […] [The book's] treatment of a huge subject is serious and well balanced, and also well written, an easy read. Highly recommended.” -
Colin McDonald for Classics for All
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Modern and Ancient References: Abbreviations xiii
1 Introduction and Historical Context 1
2 Definitions and Evidence 17
3 Enslavement 31
4 Economics 49
5 Politics 67
6 Culture 83
7 Sex and Family Life 99
8 Manumission and Ex-Slaves 117
9 Everyday Conflict 137
10 Revolts 155
11 Representations 173
12 Philosophy and Law 191
13 Decline and Legacy 209
References 221
Index 239
